The Brazilian Navy has two frogman units:-
- The "GRUMEC" (Grupo de Mergulhadores de Combate - Combat Divers Group) attached to the Submarine Force. The Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil is the Navy of Brazil and forms part of the Brazilian Armed Forces. A frogman is someone who is trained to dive or swim in a military capacity often in combat
- The "RECONANF" ("{Companhia} de Reconhecimento Anfíbio - Amphibious Reconnaissance Company) attached to the Special Operations Battalion (Batalhão "Tonelero") of the Fleet Marine Force (Brazilian Marine Corps).
Cronology
- 1964: The first Brazilian MECs (Mergulhadores de Combate = Combat Divers) were two officers and two privates who had been through the USA UDT course. An officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority A Private is a Soldier of the lowest Military rank (equivalent to NATO Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in Underwater Demolition Teams ( UDT) were a precursor to the current United States Navy SEALs The UDT's conducted beach and hydro-reconnaissance explosive cable
- 1970: From their experience, the Divisão de Mergulhadores de Combate (= Combat Divers Division) was created in the Base Almirante Castro e Silva.
- 1971: Two more officers and three privates qualified for the French Navy as "nageurs de combat". The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm
- 1974: At what is now the Centro de Instrução e Adestramento Almirante Áttila Monteiro Aché (CIAMA) in Brazil was trained the first group of combat divers. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld
- 1983: Because this frogman unit were getting more calls, Combat Divers Division was transformed into GRUMEC, as an integral part of the Comando da Força de Submarinos (= Submarine Force Command). A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability
- 1997 Dec 12: The Minister of the Navy created GRUMEC, whose headquarters are in Rio de Janeiro city and is directly subordinate to the Submarine Force Command. Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil
- 1998 March 10: GRUMEC was activated.
External links
- (Portuguese) Unofficial website